version: "1.0.0" name: vsl-7-step description: Hormozi's VSL 7-step arc — the canonical structure for an 8-15 min Video Sales Letter. Use when writing a new VSL script, refining an existing VSL, or checking whether a VSL hits all 7 acts.

VSL 7-Step Arc

Source: Combines $100M Offers (sell mechanism) + $100M Leads (longform copy patterns).

The structure

Hook → Story → Problem → Mechanism → Proof → Offer → CTA

A good longform VSL runs 8-15 min. Longer? There's fat to cut. Shorter? You're starving the mechanism and proof.

Step 1: Hook (0:00-0:15)

Job: grab attention, make the viewer feel they have to keep watching.

3 options (use the hook-framework skill):

• Problem hook
• Dream outcome hook
• Secret hook

Critical: the first 3 seconds decide whether they stay. No empty promises.

Step 2: Story (0:15-2:00)

Job: establish credibility through a personal or client narrative.

3 angles:

• Origin story: "How I figured this out after Y years of getting it wrong"
• Client story: "Client X had problem Y and we did Z"
• Discovery story: "I was solving A when I noticed B"

Bar: the story has to have real conflict, not an easy win.

Step 3: Problem (2:00-4:00)

Job: the viewer recognizes their own problem in painful detail.

Structure:

• 3-5 concrete symptoms of the problem
• Why the usual solutions fail
• The real cost of NOT fixing it (in dollars, time, or opportunity)

Bar: the viewer thinks "how does he know this about me?"

Step 4: Mechanism (4:00-7:00)

Job: reveal why YOUR method works — named and explained.

Structure:

• A proper name for the method (not "my approach," but "the R.A.M.P. System")
• 3-5 components of the method (not 12)
• Why it's different from the alternatives
• A counterintuitive insight (something that looks wrong but works)

Bar: the mechanism passes the "why" test. Why does this work when the others don't?

Step 5: Proof (7:00-9:00)

Job: break skepticism with specific evidence.

Structure:

• 3-5 case studies comparable to the viewer's ICP
• Explicit numbers (before/after)
• Diversity (not 5 case studies from the same profile)
• Real photo/name when possible

Bar: the viewer flags at least 1 case study as "that could be me"

Step 6: Offer (9:00-11:00)

Job: present the offer as a Grand Slam Offer.

Structure:

• What's included (named deliverables)
• Bonus stack (3-5, an odd number)
• Total perceived value vs price charged (10:1 target)
• Conditional performance guarantee
• Genuine scarcity

Bar: the viewer thinks "this is worth way more than it costs, by an absurd margin"

Step 7: CTA + Urgency (11:00-12:00)

Job: give a specific verbal action + a genuine reason to act now.

Structure:

• Specific verbal action ("click the link and answer 3 questions")
• Reason to act now (real deadline, next cohort, fast-action bonus)
• What happens next ("you land on an application page, I see it, I reply within 24h")
• 30s recap of what's being offered

Bar: the viewer knows EXACTLY what to click and what happens next.

Anti-patterns

• Hook → Offer with nothing between (skips 5 acts, kills conversion)
• 5-minute story (lost the viewer)
• Mechanism with no name (turns into a generic "my method")
• Proof with 1 case study (not enough)
• "Learn more" CTA (generic action)
• No real urgency (lets them decide later)

Workflow

1. Write the Offer first (step 6) — everything else lines up behind it
2. Pick the Hook aligned with the dominant angle
3. Build Story → Problem → Mechanism → Proof that sell the Offer
4. Close with a specific CTA
5. Read it out loud with a timer — cut the fat
6. Run it through the humanizer subagent before delivering

Application by use case

Detailed reference

See reference/100m-offers-extracts.md + reference/100m-leads-extracts.md.